COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – With the first round of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament complete, Ursinus now knows its postseason run will begin against a squad from the powerful New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).
Trinity (Conn.) will be the foe when the Bears head to Salisbury University for Saturday's second round, after the Bantams prevailed, 7-5, in a wild opening round clash with CSAC champion Cabrini. Regional host Salisbury awaits on the other side of the bracket, with the Sea Gulls to take on Kenyon, a 2-1 overtime winner over Elizabethtown on Wednesday, at 11 a.m. before Ursinus takes the field at 2 p.m. The winners will match up at 1 p.m. Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Despite falling in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament, Trinity presents a stiff test as the third team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament from a conference that produced both of last year's finalists in Middlebury and Bowdoin and has sent at least one team to the national championship game for the last six years.
The Bantams are a battle-tested bunch, having challenged themselves against a conference that counts seven nationally ranked teams among its ten members. Trinity, ranked 9th in the latest NFHCA poll, finished 7-3 in the NESCAC during the regular season before dropping a 4-2 decision to Williams in the quarterfinals of the league tournament. Thanks to a top-notch strength of schedule, the Bantams earned an at-large bid into the national tournament.
Making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2009, Trinity came out on top of a high-scoring slugfest with Cabrini on Wednesday in the first NCAA game ever played on its campus. Sophomore midfielder Alison Slowe matched her entire regular-season output with a career-high four goals and junior forward Kelcie Finn – the NESCAC Player of the Year – set a school record with five assists in addition to a goal.
Finn will be the focus for a stout Bears back line anchored by three-time first team All-Centennial Conference honoree Aliki Torrence. Finn, who has 25 goals and 15 assists on the season, leads all of Division III in points per game (3.82) and ranks second in goals per game (1.47); she has scored in all but three games and has netted multiple markers nine times, with a pair of hat tricks mixed in.
Sophomore forward Chandler Solimine (16 goals, 8 assists) and Slowe (8 goals, 6 assists), both second team All-NESCAC selections, are also dangerous in attack.
The Bantams are backstopped by sophomore Lori Berger, who has posted a 1.93 goals-against average and .761 save percentage with three shutouts this season. Berger made just one save in the first-round victory over Cabrini, when Trinity owned a 30-8 advantage in shots and attempted 15 penalty corners.
The Bears, winners of six straight games, are coming off a thrilling overtime victory over Franklin & Marshall in the CC championship game last Sunday. Sophomore Bridget Sherry, a second team All-CC representative and the MVP of the CC tournament, netted the winning goal on a penalty stroke in the first extra session, giving Ursinus its fourth consecutive conference crown and 12th in the last 13 seasons.
Ursinus, making its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance, is looking to return to the Final Four for the second straight season. To get there, the Bears will rely on a stingy defensive backfield and a balanced attack featuring six players who have registered at least ten points. Senior forward Amber Steigerwalt, a first team All-CC choice, leads the way with 16 goals and 5 assists, while junior forward Brooke Overly (12 goals, team-high 8 assists), senior forward Colleen Leahy (12 goals, 4 assists), and senior defender Ann Kopera (9 goals, 6 assists) have been consistent weapons.
Torrence has added an offensive element to her game this season, recording four goals and four assists to date, while freshman midfielder Gemma Dufoe has netted five goals. The Bears' attack also features CC Rookie of the Year Erin Saybolt, who has two goals and two assists.
Torrence is the anchor of a back line that also includes Kopera, Sherry, senior Rachel Zane, junior Emma Frees, and sophomore Mikayla Jordan. In front of sophomore goalkeeper Jules Singer, the Bears have allowed just 1.09 goals per game. Ursinus held Muhlenberg's Rachel Strow, the CC Player of the Year, without a shot in the regular-season finale, something to draw on when the Bears attempt to contain Finn, the Bantams' star.
Like the Bantams, Ursinus took on a daunting schedule this season. The Bears have faced seven nationally ranked teams (going 4-3 in those games) in addition to a ranked Division II program in West Chester.
A Bears victory would likely result in a date with No. 2 Salisbury. The Sea Gulls rank second in Division III in goals-against average (0.58) and scoring margin (3.98), third in scoring average (4.56), and sixth in corners per game (12.18). Salidsbury has won 12 straight games and has outscored opponents 79-10.
Making its 12th appearance overall, Ursinus is 20-10 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and has reached the semifinals six times. The Bears and Bantams have met once before in the NCAA Tournament, a 5-1 Ursinus rout in the third round in 2009, when current assistant coach Alyssa Thren scored two goals.
Live video and live stats links for Saturday's contests can be found on Salisbury's regional home page or the field hockey schedule page.